Al-Adab Al-Mufrad
Al-Adab Al-Mufrad 608
حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ سَلاَمٍ، قَالَ: أَخْبَرَنَا إِسْمَاعِيلُ ابْنُ عُلَيَّةَ، عَنْ عَبْدِ الْعَزِيزِ بْنِ صُهَيْبٍ، عَنْ أَنَسٍ قَالَ: قَالَ رَسُولُ اللهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم: إِذَا دَعَا أَحَدُكُمْ فَلْيَعْزِمْ فِي الدُّعَاءِ، وَلاَ يَقُلِ: اللَّهُمَّ إِنْ شِئْتَ فَأَعْطِنِي، فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ لاَ مُسْتَكْرِهَ لَهُ.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Muhammad ibn Salam related to us: Isma‘il ibn ‘Ulayyah informed us, from ‘Abd al-‘Aziz ibn Suhayb, from Anas, who said: The Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and grant him peace, said: “When one of you supplicates, let him ask with resolve and not say, ‘O Allah, if You will, give me.’ For no one can compel Allah.”
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The Arabic ends with “Allah has no one who can compel Him”; the English witness renders this as “Allah cannot be forced against His will.”
فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ لاَ مُسْتَكْرِهَ لَهُ.
The Arabic literally says no one can compel Allah; the idiomatic witness conveys the same sense.
Is “no one can compel Allah” preferable for closer alignment?